Music composition method and system for portable device having touchscreen

ABSTRACT

A music composition method and system is provided for composing a music piece using a touch interaction with a touchscreen-enabled portable device. A music composition method includes setting an accompaniment with chords varying according to the progress of a unit play time; playing the accompaniment; displaying, when a series of touches are detected, a trace of the touches; playing a melody of tones mapped to positions of the touches and matching notes of a note scale defined by chords of the accompaniment playing at the times when the touches are detected; and saving the trace, melody, and accompaniment as a music piece as an ensemble.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date, under 35U.S.C. §119(a), of that Korean patent application filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on May 12, 2009 and assigned Serial No.10-2009-0041112, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic music composition and, inparticular to, a music composition method and system for composing musicpiece using a touch interaction with a touchscreen-enabled portabledevice.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the communication technology has been rapidly developed to providebetter performance and various new functions have been integrated into amobile phone, the user interface has been expanded to accommodatecontrol the many functions that are operable in the mobile phone.

Recently, the mobile phones have advanced in entertainment functions andeven some enable the user to create entertainment contents. With thewidespread of touchscreen-enabled devices, the entertainment functionsare implemented in association with the gestural interaction through thetouchscreen.

A music creation application is one good example of an entertainmentapplication and typically uses a software sequencer. A sequencer-basedapplication is implemented for the user to place each note (tone, sound,and melody) on a Note Scale or arrange patterns, i.e. pieces eachcontaining Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) note informationin units of measure. As known, the MIDI is an industry standard protocolthat enables electronic musical instruments, such as keyboardcontrollers and computers, to communicate with each other.

However, it is not easy to implement the music applications in aportable device, e.g. mobile phone. In the case of the melody creationmethod which receives the melody consisting of notes, the limited sizeof the display screen of portable device makes creating a melodydifficult. In the case of the pattern arrangement method, even known asa typical music composition method, it cannot achieve its merits fordiverse and intuitive composition in the size-limited portable device.Particularly, the conventional music composition methods are complicatedfor the user, especially beginner, to compose a multi-instrument soundmusic like a concert requiring technical knowledge for mixing theinstruments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a music composition method and system fora touchscreen-enabled portable device that is capable of composing musicintuitively with gestural finger interaction.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, amusic composition method operable in a portable device having atouchscreen includes setting an accompaniment with chords varyingaccording to the progress of a unit play time; playing theaccompaniment; displaying, when a series of touches are detected, atrace of the touches; playing a melody of tones mapped to positions ofthe touches and matching notes of a note scale defined by chords of theaccompaniment playing at the times when the touches are detected; andsaving the trace, melody, and accompaniment as a music piece as anensemble.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a music composition method for a portable device having atouchscreen includes displaying a handle moving along a vertical axis onthe touchscreen in response to a input on the touchscreen; selecting anaccompaniment having at least one chord per unit play time; playing,when the handle moves by a touch event, a tone mapped to a movedposition and matching a note of a note scale corresponding to the chordat the time when the touch is detected and the selected accompaniment;and saving the tone and accompaniment along with a trace of the touch.

In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a music composition system for a portable device having atouch screen a drawing region having a play bar which indicates acurrent tone of a melody and a current play time of an accompaniment onthe touch screen; an accompaniment region which displays unit play timesmatching the accompaniment; and a control region which provides menuoptions for controlling the melody.

In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a portable terminal for composing a musical compositionincludes a touch screen; a display unit; and a processor incommunication with a memory, the memory including code, which accessedby the processor causes the processor to: receive an input from thetouch screen; set an accompaniment with chords varying according toprogress of a unit play time in response to the input; play theaccompaniment; display on the display unit a trace of a plurality oftouches as the plurality of touches is detected on the touch screen;play a melody of tones mapped to positions of the plurality of touchesand matching notes of a note scale defined by chords of theaccompaniment playing at the times when the touches are detected; andsave the trace, melody, and accompaniment as a music piece in anensemble.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a diagram illustrating a composition mode screen of a musiccomposition system according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1 b is a diagram illustrating a principle of composing a musicpiece on the composition mode screen of FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 2 a is a flowchart illustrating a music composition procedureaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 b is a diagram illustrating operations of a composition modescreen of the portable device is association with the procedure of FIG.2 a;

FIG. 3 a is a screen image illustrating a playback mode screen when theportable device enters the playback mode according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 b is a diagram illustrating a screen image of the playback modescreen when the portable device plays a music piece in the playback modeaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 a is a diagram illustrating arrangement mode screens of theportable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 b is a diagram illustrating arrangement mode screens of aportable device according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 c is a flowchart illustrating an arrangement procedure for in theportable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 a is a diagram illustrating an ensemble mode screen of theportable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 b is a flowchart illustrating an ensemble setting procedure inthe portable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 6 a to 6 c are diagrams illustrating mixing mode screens of theportable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the accompanying drawings in detail. The same referencenumbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or likeparts. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structuresincorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matterof the present invention.

In the following, a description is made of the portable device having atouchscreen that provides a user interface enabling the user to composemusic intuitively. The touchscreen provides the user with an emptyvirtual music sheet such that the user composes a music pieceintuitively by filling the virtual music sheet with finger touch inputs.This enables the user having no expert knowledge to compose a musicpiece and provides even the expert composer with an intuitivecomposition interface, resulting in the promotion of music composition.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the musiccomposition system is configured for the user to input a melody inharmony with an accompaniment such that the beginners can create a musicpiece with appropriate chords. Typically in the case of a piano music,the right hand plays a melody while the left hand plays the chords. Atthis time, the left hand part is regarded as the accompaniment. In avocal song or a violin sonata, the entire part of the piano becomes theaccompaniment of the soloist part and also the playing of the piano orthe entire ensemble, such as orchestra, is called accompaniment. Inexemplary embodiments of the present invention, a music piece includingthe “melody” and “accompaniment” can be composed by the touch inputs ofthe user on the touchscreen presenting a virtual music sheet.

Preferably, the music composition system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is configured such that the melodyand accompaniment are written in harmonic chord progression. In casethat the user inputs a melody through the touchscreen, the portabledevice generates a chord progression in harmony with a specificaccompaniment. In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention,the music composition system provides an interface for a user to input,edit, and play a melody and accompaniment.

Although the description is made of the music composition systemimplemented with a touchscreen as the user input interface, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, the music compositionsystem of the present invention can be implemented with a touchpad orother input devices.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the touch inputsinclude various touch gestures such as ‘tap’, ‘double tap’, ‘hold’,‘touch and move’, ‘drag and drop’, and ‘flick’.

Here, the term “touch” means an action in which the user makes a contacton the touchscreen with a part of his/her body (e.g. finger) or anobject (e.g. stylus). The term “tap” means an action in which the userputs a finger/stylus on the touchscreen and then lift it up withoutlosing a moment. The term “double tap” means an action in which the usermakes the “tap” gesture twice quickly on the touchscreen. The term“hold” means an action in which the user maintains the contact of afinger/stylus on the touchscreen over a predetermined time duration. Theterm “touch and move” means an action in which the user makes a contactat a position on the touch screen with a finger/stylus, moves thefinger/stylus in a direction, and releases the contact at anotherposition on the touchscreen. The term “drag and drop” means an action inwhich the user puts a finger/stylus at a position to hold a movable itemon the touchscreen, moves the finger/stylus to drag the item in adirection, and releases the contact to place the item at an intendedposition.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a music piece canbe created in “composition mode”, arranged in “arrangement mode”, andplayed in “playback mode”. Also, a music piece can be created, arranged,and played in “ensemble mode” for various instruments and adjusted in“mixing mode” for setting the parameters such as volumes and pans of theaccompaniment instruments.

The portable device can operate in one of the composition mode,arrangement mode, playback mode, ensemble mode, and mixing modedepending on the input device and user interface environment of theportable device.

First, a description is made of the composition mode. FIG. 1 a is adiagram illustrating a composition mode screen of a music compositionsystem according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,and FIG. 1 b is a diagram illustrating a principle of composing a musicpiece on the composition mode screen of FIG. 1 a.

As shown in FIG. 1 a, the composition mode screen includes a drawingregion 110, an accompaniment playback region 120, and a control region130.

The drawing region 110 and the accompaniment playback region 120function as a music sheet and shows the progress of the melody andaccompaniment with the movement of a bar from left to right.

The drawing region 110 is used as a music sheet such that the user canbuild a melody by arranging notes thereon. That is, the drawing region110 provides the note scales. In FIG. 1 a, the vertical axis of thedrawing region 110 is mapped to the note scales.

The portable device plays the music represented by the sheet drawn inthe drawing region 110. Reference numeral 111 denotes a play barindicating the current time on the melody and accompaniment. Referencenumeral 113 denotes a handle allowing the user to place notes forcomposing a melody. The handle 113 can move up and down along the playbar 111 according to the touch input. The portable device plays themelody by generating tones mapped to the notes indicated by the handle113 moving along the play bar 111. Reference numeral 115 denotes a traceof the handle 113 with respect to time. As the music progresses, thedrawing region 110 scrolls from left to right such that the trace 115 isdrawn from right to left continuously.

The accompaniment playback region 120 shows the elapsed time currentlybeing performed in unit play time. The unit play time is indicated byArabic figures (1, 2, 3, . . . ). In FIG. 1 a, the unit play times 1 and2 are displayed in the accompaniment playback region 120. In typicalscores, the chord changes per measure. For example, the unit play timecan be a measure of the score. Also, the unit play time can be aduration for which the same chord is maintained. The accompaniment canbe played according to a specific chord in each unit play time. In FIG.1 a, the music is played in the unit play time 2 according to thelocation of the play bar 111.

As described above, the accompaniment region 120 is scrolled insynchronization with the drawing region 110. Under the assumption thatthe unit play times 1 and 2 correspond to the first and second measuresof the music sheet (score), the unit play times 1 and 2 shows thescrolling of the accompaniment region from right to left in FIG. 1 a.

The control region 130 is provided with a plurality of menu buttons forstoring, playing, and editing the music in response to a touch input ofthe user. The control region 130 also the menu buttons for activatingthe arrangement mode, playback mode, ensemble mode, and mixing mode.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the portable devicedetects a touch input and plays a melody (tones) from the position atwhich the touch event is detected. At this time, the portable deviceretrieves and plays the melody corresponding to the chord of the currentaccompaniment.

In more detail, if the handle 113 is moved up and down in response tothe touch input of the user, a melody (tones) corresponding to theposition of the handle 113 is played. For example, the drawing region110 is vertically mapped to the tones from low to high. Accordingly, thehigher the handle 113 moves up along the play bar 111, the higher thetone is. That is, the drawing region is partitioned into sectionsvertically (not shown) that are mapped to the note scales.

The melody (tones) is played according to the position of the handle inthe drawing region 110 and can be changed depending on the accompanimentplayed along with. As mentioned, the accompaniment is played accordingto the chord for each unit play time and thus the tones corresponding tothe position of the handle 113 and the chord of the accompaniment areplayed.

In FIG. 1 b, the drawing region 110 is depicted having the note scale of1 octave matching the keyboard of a piano as the accompanimentinstrument. Although 1 octave note scale is depicted in FIG. 1 b toillustrate the principles of the invention, multiple octave note scales,preferably a 2 octave scale, can be easily implemented without undueexperimentation on thus skilled in the art. A number of octaves for thenote scale can be changed depending on a user configuration ormanufacturer settings.

The notes are changed according to the chord corresponding to the unitplay time. The note scale and chord can be displayed, or not, in thedrawing region 110 depending on the user configuration.

In FIG. 1 b, the chords “A” and “Am” are depicted as an example. In thecase of the chord “A”, the note scale consists of the notes C# D E F G AB C#. In case of the chord “Am”, the note scale consists of the notes CD E F G A B C.

Assuming that the chords of the unit play times 1 and 2 are “A” and “Am”respectively, the sound is played when the handle 113 is placed at oneof the notes C# D E F G A B C# for the unit play time 1 and when thehandle 113 is placed at one of the notes C D E F G A B C for the unitplay time 2.

In this manner, if the user moves the handle 113 by touch input, theportable device plays a melody (tones) mapped to the note scale of thecorresponding chord. In FIG. 1 b, the curved line indicates the trace ofthe handle 113, and the portable device plays the melody consisted ofthe notes mapped to positions 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 in the drawingregion 110 along with the accompaniment chords.

FIG. 2 a is a flowchart illustrating a music composition procedureaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.2 b is a diagram illustrating operations of a composition mode screen ofthe portable device is association with the procedure of FIG. 2 a.

As previously described, the portable device plays a melody (tones)selected by the touch input of the user which is mapped to the notescale varying according to the accompaniment chord. The user can selectat least one instrument for the accompaniment using the menu optionsprovided by the portable device (FIG. 1 a). The user also can select atleast one instrument, preferably one instrument, for the melody. How toselect the instruments for the melody and accompaniment is describedlater in detail.

In FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, it is assumed that the accompaniment instrumentshave been selected already for playing specific chords corresponding tothe respective unit play times. The selection and configuration of theaccompaniment instruments are described later in detail.

If a menu option is selected for activating the composition mode, theportable device activates the composition mode with the presentation ofthe composition mode screen as shown in image (a) of FIG. 2 b (S201).The composition mode screen includes the drawing region 110, theaccompaniment region 120, the play bar 111, and the handle 113.

The drawing region 110 is mapped to the note scale which variesaccording to the chord of the unit play time. After the activation ofthe composition mode, the portable device monitors for a touch input todetect an accompaniment play command for playing a user-selectedaccompaniment (S203). If the accompaniment play command is detected, theportable device plays the accompaniment (S205). The accompaniment playcommand can be input by the user tapping the handle 113 on thetouchscreen as shown in image (b) of FIG. 2 b.

As the accompaniment progresses, the portable device displays thecorresponding unit play time in the accompaniment region 120. The playtime units scroll from right to left in synchronization with the speedof the meter. Since note scale varies according the chord of the unitplay time, it changes according to the chord in synchronization with theunit play time as the drawing region 110 and the accompaniment region120 are scrolling.

While playing the accompaniment, the portable device monitors to detecta touch input. The portable device continues playing the accompanimentuntil a touch input is detected. This includes when a touch releaseaction.

If a touch input is detected, the portable device displays the trace 115of the handle 100 (209). The handle 100 can be moved according to thetouch input of the user. The image (c) of FIG. 2 b show the upwardmovement of the handle 113 according to the user's touch input, i.e.“touch and move” action. As a result of this touch input, the trace 115of the handle 113 is drawn as shown in image (d) of FIG. 2 b. In thismanner, the portable device displays the movement of the handle 113 as acurved trace in association with the scroll of the drawing region 100.

After drawing the trace of the handle 113, the portable devicedetermines whether the position of the handle matches a note of the notescale corresponding to the current chord of the accompaniment (S211). Ifthe position of the handle matches a note of the note scale, theportable device plays the melody (tone) matched with the note scale(S213). Otherwise, the process goes to step S215.

The above described steps are repeated until the save command isdetected at step S215. That is, the portable device repeats steps 205 to213 for playing the accompaniment, drawing the trace of the handle 113in response to the user's touch input, and playing the tone mapped tothe note of the note scale.

If the position of the handle does not match a note of the note scale atstep 211, the portable device determines whether a save command is input(S215).

If the save command is detected, the portable device saves the trace,accompaniment, and melody as a music piece in a combined form (S217).

The stored music piece can be played in response to a playback requestof the user. At this time, the melody and accompaniment of the musicpiece are played simultaneously with the display of the trace. Theplayback mode is described hereinafter.

FIG. 3 a is a screen image illustrating a playback mode screen when theportable device enters the playback mode according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 b is a diagramillustrating a screen image of the playback mode screen when theportable device plays a music piece in the playback mode according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. The music piece can becomposed and stored as described above and then played in response to auser request.

The portable device can be configured to provide various sound effectsand visual effects.

In the playback mode activated with a sound effect and the playback modescreen as shown in FIG. 3 b, a specific sound effect can be added to themelody and accompaniment using the function such as a MIDI filter andwave effect (FX). The midi is an interface for controlling electronicinstruments by means of a computer. The MIDI filter is a function thatprovides variation to the tone signal generated by the MIDI using aspecific algorithm. The FX is an audio processing function for givingthe sound field effects such as reverb and chorus.

For example, the “delay” MIDI filter can give an echo effect to thesound of a note. The FX can give a distortion effect to a Pulse CodeModulation (PCM) audio sample so as to be heard as the distortion of anelectric guitar.

In case that a music piece is played with a basic visual effect, theportable device displays the trace of the handle 113. In an exemplaryembodiment of the present, the visual effect can be presented with agraphic image characterized by various shapes, sizes, colors, andtransparency depending on the trace. FIG. 3 b shows an exemplary graphicimage display when the music piece is played.

The graphic image can be composed of circles, squares, and other figuresthat can be adjusted in size. The exemplary graphic image of FIG. 3 b iscomposed of a plurality of circles. These circles can be arranged alongthe trace corresponding to the melody (tones) in consideration of thenote scale. The currently playing tone is highlighted with relativelylarge circles and other tones on the trace decorated with relativelysmall circles. The graphic image can be configured such that the circlescan be filled with different colors in different transparency andopacity according to the note. In FIG. 3 b, the circles around thecurrent playing tone are opaque, and the circles around played alreadyare drawn in different transparency.

The pitch of a tone can be used to determine the size and transparencyof a graphic element such that the tone having a low pitch isrepresented by a graphic element colored in high transparency and thetone having a high pitch is represented by a graphic element colored inlow transparency. The color of the representative graphic element can bechanged according to the mood of a tone or the genre of the music. Also,the shape of a graphic element can be changed according to theinstrument.

As described above, a music piece can be played with various sound andvisual effects in the playback mode.

A description is made of the arrangement mode according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention hereinafter.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b are diagrams illustrating arrangement mode screens ofthe portable device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention and FIG. 4 c is a flowchart illustrating an arrangementprocedure for in the portable device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 a, the arrangement mode screen includes arrangementspots placed on the trace such that the user can arrange the music pieceby manipulating or adjusting the arrangement spots.

The image (A) of FIG. 4 a shows the arrangement mode screen displayedwhen the arrangement mode is activated, and the image (B) of FIG. 4 ashows the arrangement mode screen in which an arrangement is done. Oncethe arrangement mode is activated, the arrangement mode screen havingthe drawing region 110 in which the trace 115 of the melody of auser-selected music piece is displayed as shown in FIG. 4 a. Referencenumerals 41, 43, 45, and 47 denote respective arrangement spots. Thearrangement spots are places along the trace 115 at a predeterminedinterval and can be used for arranging the music piece.

The user can move each arrangement spot by means of a touch inputoperation. If an arrangement spot is moved to another position, thetrace of the melody is changed according to the changed position of thearrangement spot. FIG. 4 b shows the variation of the trace according tothe movement of the spot 41 from the position 410 (see image A of FIG. 4a) to the position 420 (see image B of FIG. 4 a).

As shown in images (A) and (B), if the user moves the arrangement spot41 from the position 410 to another position 420, the trace of melody ischanged in accordance with the movement of the arrangement spot. In thismanner, the user can arrange the music piece by changing the position ofthe arrangement points.

FIG. 4 b shows another method for arranging the music piece without useof the arrangement spots. Once the arrangement mode is activated, thearrangement mode screen is described as shown (C) of FIG. 4 b. Thearrangement mode screen of the image (C) is provided with a plurality ofarrangement spots placed along the trace of melody of the loaded musicpiece.

In case that it is required to arrange the music piece without use ofthe arrangement spots, the arrangement spots can be removed from thearrangement mode screen by user manipulation. The image (D) of FIG. 4 bshows the arrangement mode screen from which the management spots havebeen removed.

The user can appoint a specific section of the drawing region of thearrangement screen in a horizontal direction by a touch input. In theimage (E) of FIG. 4 b, reference numerals 430 and 440 denote the startand end points of the section appointed by the user.

Once the section is appointed with the start and end points 430 and 440,the user can input a command for deleting the appointed section. If thedelete command is input, the trace of a melody in the appointed sectiondisappears as shown in the image (F) of FIG. 4 b. In this manner, themusic piece loaded in the arrangement mode can be arranged by deleting aspecific part of the melody.

The arrangement operation is described in more detail with reference toFIG. 4 c. In the arrangement mode, if the user selects a music piececreated in the portable device, the portable device loads the selectedmusic piece (S401) and displays the trace of the melody of the selectedmusic piece and the arrangement spots along the trace (S403). The images(A) of FIG. 4 a and (C) of FIG. 4 b show the exemplary arrangement modescreen on which the trace and arrangement spots are displayed. The traceand the arrangement spots can be created when the corresponding musicpiece is created in the composition mode.

The user can arrange the loaded music piece with or without use of thearrangement spots. Accordingly, the portable terminal monitors for theinput of a user command for removing the arrangement spots (S405). Ifthe arrangement spots removal command is detected, the progress proceedsto step S411.

Otherwise, if the arrangement spots removal command is not detected, theportable device determines whether a touch event is detected on anarrangement spot (S407). If a touch event is detected on an arrangementspot, the portable device moves the arrangement spot according to thedetected touch event (S409). At this time, the trace is changed inaccordance with the movement of the arrangement spot. The image (B) ofFIG. 4 a shows an exemplary screen on which movement of the arrangementspot has occurred.

If the arrangement spots removal command is detected at step S405, theportable device removes the arrangement spots from the screen (S411).The image (D) of FIG. 4 b shows an exemplary screen on which the removalof the arrangement spots has occurred. Next, the portable devicemonitors for the input of a user command to select part of a trace(S413). If a section appointment command is detected at step S413, theportable device selects a section according to the section appointmentcommand and highlights the selected section on the screen (S415). Theimage (E) of FIG. 4 b shows an exemplary screen on which a section ofthe drawing region is selected. While displaying the highlightedsection, the portable device monitors the input screen to detect a usercommand regarding removing a selected part (S417). If an appointedsection removal command is detected at step S417, the portable deviceremoves the appointed section and displays the screen from which theappointed section has disappeared (S419). The image (F) of FIG. 4 bshows an exemplary screen on which the appointed section hasdisappeared.

After the change of the trace at step S409 or the removal of theappointed section at step S419, the portable device monitors the touchscreen to detect a user command for saving the arrange music piece(S421). If a save command is detected at step 421, the portable devicesaves the arranged music piece (S423). Otherwise, if no user command isdetected at step S421, the process goes to step S403.

A description is made of the ensemble mode according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention hereinafter. FIG. 5 a is a diagramillustrating an ensemble mode screen of the portable device according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 b is aflowchart illustrating an ensemble setting procedure in the portabledevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As previously described, the portable device can play the melody formedby the touch input of the user and/or accompaniment in the compositionmode and the playback mode. The accompaniment can be played by multipleinstruments. In the ensemble mode, the user can select at least oneinstrument and at least one accompaniment played by the at least oneinstrument.

FIG. 5 a shows the ensemble mode screen image. Reference numeral 510denotes an instrument column in which icons representing the instrumentsthat can be selected by the user, and reference numeral 520 denotes aunit play time row in which the continuous unit play times are aligned.

The user can select the instruments for playing the melody and/oraccompaniment by touching the instrument icons 511, 513, and 515displayed in the instrument column 510. The instrument column alsodisplays a music icon 517 representing the music piece selected by theuser selection.

The icons 511, 513, 315, and 517 can be the images representing theinstrument families. For example, an icon can represent a piano familyincluding acoustic piano, electric piano, chorus piano, and the like. Inthis case, the portable terminal stores the sound sources of all theinstruments that belong to the same instrument family. The user canselect at least one instrument from the same instrument family.

The unit play times are assigned Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, . . . ). Aunit play time can be a measure for playing the accompaniment of achord.

Reference numeral 531 denotes a part represented by a grid defined by aninstrument row and a unit play time column. Each part can be activatedor deactivated by a user's manipulation.

If a part is empty as denoted by reference numeral 531, this means thatthe part is deactivated. If an instrument is selected at a specific unitplay time by the user, the corresponding part is shaded to indicate theactivation of the instrument at the unit play time. The parts denoted byreference numbers 533, 535, and 537 are shaded in gray and this meansthat the instruments on the corresponding rows are played at theircorresponding unit play times.

For example, assuming that the user selects the icons 511, 513, and 515for the respective instruments of a bass, a guitar, and a piano, thepart 533 is set for playing the bass at the unit play time 1, the part535 for playing the guitar at the unit play time 2, and the part 537 forplaying the piano at the unit play time 2.

In case that a part is activated, the instrument on the row of the partplays the accompaniment according to the chord designated for the unitplay time on the column of the part. The portable device can store aplurality of accompaniments for the corresponding instruments, and theuser can activate each part for the accompaniment of the correspondinginstrument.

For example, assuming that the chord “A” is designated for the unit playtime 2, the notes A C# E can be played on a guitar in various style. Theguitar can be played in a stroke type or an arpeggio style. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the ensemble mode can beconfigured such that the instruments play the accompaniment of the samechord in different styles.

The ensemble mode is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5b. In the ensemble mode, the portable device displays an ensemble modescreen (S501). While displaying the ensemble mode screen, the portabledevice monitors the input device in order to detect a command input bythe user (S503). If an instrument selection command is detected at step503, the portable device displays the icon representing the selectedinstrument (S505).

Also, the user can select a unit play time for the selected instrumentto play the accompaniment. After displaying the instrument icon at stepS505, the portable device monitors the input device in order to detect auser command for selecting a unit play time (S507). If a unit play timeselection command is detected at step S507, the portable deviceactivates the part defined by the selected instrument row and theselected unit play time column (S509). If the part is activated, theinstrument plays the accompaniment according to the chord mapped to theunit play time.

The user can select at least one instrument in the above describedmanner. Accordingly, steps S501 to S509 are repeated for selecting otherinstruments and unit play times for the selected instruments until asave command is input by the user. The portable device monitors theinput device in order to detect a user save command (S511). If a savecommand is detected at step S511, the portable device saves the settings(S513) and then terminates the ensemble mode procedure.

As described above, the user can select the instruments to play theaccompaniment and playback positions and times of the selectedinstruments in the ensemble mode. Particularly when selecting multipleinstruments, it is possible to configure the multiple instrumentsplaying the accompaniment as an ensemble.

A description is made of the mixing mode according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6 a to 6 c are diagramsillustrating mixing mode screens of the portable device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As described with reference to FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, various instrumentscan be selected for playing the accompaniment in an ensemble. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, when multiple instrumentsare selected to play the accompaniment, the instruments can be adjustedin volume and pan (i.e., panoramic potentiometer to control left andright axis) individually.

Referring to FIG. 6 a, the mixing mode screen includes instrument icons.On the mixing mode screen, the user can rearrange the icons 511, 513,515, and 517 by means of a touch input. Each icon is adjusted in volumeand pan according to its arranged position. The icons A2 (511), C1(513), and D1 (515) represent the respective accompaniment instruments,and the icon S (517) represents the melody instrument.

The vertical axis is mapped to volume levels increasing from bottom totop, and the horizontal axis is mapped to pan increasing from left toright. The lower the icon moves to, the lower the volume of theinstrument is. The more right the icon moves to, the louder the sound ofthe right speaker (earphone) becomes and the weaker the sound of theleft speaker (earphone) becomes. In the same manner, the more left theicon moves, the louder the sound of the left speaker (earphone) becomesand the weaker the sound of the right speaker (earphone) becomes.

In FIG. 6 a, the instrument sound represented by the icon A2 (511) isoutput at the highest volume and the instrument sound represented by theicon D1 (515) at the lowest volume level among the three accompanimentinstruments 511, 513, and 515. The icon C1 (513) indicates that theright channel output of the corresponding instrument sound is louderthan the left channel output, the icon D1 (515) indicates that the leftchannel output of the corresponding instrument sound is louder than theright channel output, and the icon A2 (511) indicates that the left andright channel outputs of the corresponding instrument sound areidentical with each other. The icon S (517) represents the melodycreated by the user. Also, the melody can be adjusted in volume and panand set in the same manner as the accompaniment instrument sounds.

As previously described, the accompaniment instruments can be added orremoved according to the user's intention. The addition and removal ofthe accompaniment instruments can be done with the correspondinginstrument icons. FIG. 6 b is an exemplary screen image to show how toadd and remove the instrument icons.

If a touch event is detected on the mixing mode screen, the portabledevice displays an instrument group tray 620. The instrument group tray620 includes instrument icons representing various musical instruments.In order to simplify the explanation, the drawing region exclusive theinstrument group tray 620 is called a “mixing region” in FIG. 6 b. Theuser can move an instrument from the instrument group tray 620 to themixing region or from the mixing region to the instrument group tray 620by means of a touch event, e.g. drag and drop touch event.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the accompanimentinstruments can be selected by the genre of the music according to thepreset configuration. FIG. 6 c shows an exemplary mixing mode screen forsetting the instruments according to the genre of the music.

If a touch event is detected on the mixing mode screen of FIG. 6 a, theportable device displays a setting panel 630 on top of the mixing modescreen as shown in FIG. 6 c.

The setting panel 630 includes a style interface 631 for selecting agenre and a BPM interface 633 for selecting a play speed.

The user can select a music genre in the style interface 631. If a musicgenre is selected in the style interface 631, the instruments (icons)preset for the selected genre are arranged in the mixing region inconsideration of the preset volumes and pans. In FIG. 6 c, “Hip Hop” isselected as the music genre and thus the instruments (icons) preset forthe “Hip Hop” genre are arranged in the mixing region with their presetvolumes and pans.

The user can select the play speed of the music using the BPM interface633, and the instruments play the accompaniment at the speed selected bythe user.

As described above, the music composition method and system for atouchscreen-enabled portable device provides the user with a compositioninterface having a note scale like a music sheet such that the user cancomposes a music piece intuitively. Also, the music composition methodand system changes the note scale according to the variation of theaccompaniment, whereby even the begging user can create a music piece inensemble with the chords.

The above-described methods, which are operable in the portableterminal, according to the present invention can be realized in hardwareor as software or computer code that can be stored in a recording mediumsuch as a CD ROM, a RAM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or amagneto-optical disk or downloaded over a network, so that the methodsdescribed herein can be executed by such software using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor or the programmable hardware include memorycomponents, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash, etc. that may store or receivesoftware or computer code that when accessed and executed by thecomputer, processor or hardware implement the processing methodsdescribed herein. In addition, it would be recognized that when ageneral purpose computer accesses code for implementing the processingshown herein, the execution of the code transforms the general purposecomputer into a special purpose computer for executing the processingshown herein. In addition, the computer, processor or dedicated hardwaremay be composed of at least one of a single processor, amulti-processor, and a multi-core processor.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail hereinabove, it should be clearly understood thatmany variations and/or modifications of the basic inventive conceptsherein taught which may appear to those skilled in the present art willstill fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, asdefined in the appended claims.

1. A music composition method operable in a portable device having atouchscreen, the method comprising: setting an accompaniment with chordsvarying according to the progress of a unit play time; playing theaccompaniment; displaying, when a series of touches are detected, atrace of the touches; playing a melody of tones mapped to positions ofthe touches and matching notes of a note scale defined by chords of theaccompaniment playing at the times when the touches are detected; andsaving the trace, melody, and accompaniment as a music piece as anensemble.
 2. The music composition method of claim 1, wherein the traceis displayed in a drawing region scrolling in accordance with a meterspeed of the accompaniment when the touch is detected.
 3. The musiccomposition method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying the traceas arrangement spots, corresponding to the series of touches, when thesaved music piece is requested; and changing the trace in accordancewith the movement of the arrangement spots, when one of the arrangementspots moves in response to a touch event.
 4. The music compositionmethod of claim 1, wherein displaying a trace of the touches comprises:removing a selected part of the trace and corresponding parts of themelody and accompaniment when a command for selecting and removing thepart of the trace is received.
 5. The music composition method of claim1, further comprising: playing, when a play command is input, the melodyand accompaniment; and displaying the trace in the form of a graphic,the graphic comprising a plurality of geometric figures having distinctshapes, colors, and transparency.
 6. The music composition method ofclaim 1, wherein setting an accompaniment comprises: selecting at leastone instrument for the accompaniment; and selecting at least one unitplay time for the selected instrument to play.
 7. The music compositionmethod of claim 6, wherein the at least one instrument is represented bya corresponding icon arranged along a vertical axis of the touchscreen,and the at least one unit play time is represented by bars arrangedsuccessively along a horizontal axis of the touchscreen.
 8. The musiccomposition method of claim 1, wherein setting an accompanimentcomprises: selecting at least one instrument for the accompaniment; andsetting a volume and a pan of the selected instrument.
 9. The musiccomposition method of claim 8, wherein the volume is set to increasealong a vertical axis of the touchscreen from bottom to top, and the panis set along a horizontal axis of the touchscreen, the volume and pan ofthe selected instrument being determined by a position of an iconrepresenting the instrument on the touchscreen.
 10. The musiccomposition method of claim 8, wherein the at least one instrument andthe volume and the pan of the selected instrument are selectedautomatically according to a genre of the music piece.
 11. A musiccomposition method for a portable device having a touchscreen, themethod comprising: displaying a handle moving along a vertical axis onthe touchscreen in response to a input on the touchscreen; selecting anaccompaniment having at least one chord per unit play time; playing,when the handle moves by a touch event, a tone mapped to a movedposition and matching a note of a note scale corresponding to the chordat the time when the touch is detected and the selected accompaniment;and saving the tone and accompaniment along with a trace of the touch.12. A music composition system for a portable device having a touchscreen, comprising: a drawing region having a play bar which indicates acurrent tone of a melody and a current play time of an accompaniment onthe touch screen; an accompaniment region which displays unit play timesmatching the accompaniment; and a control region which provides menuoptions for controlling the melody.
 13. The music composition system ofclaim 12, wherein the drawing region displays a trace of a handle inresponse to touch inputs, the trace being defined by a line drawn by themovement of the handle.
 14. The music composition system of claim 13,wherein the handle moves up and down along the play bar and tones mappedto positions of the handle are played as a melody.
 15. The musiccomposition system of claim 12, wherein the control region comprises asave button, a play button, an edit button, an arrangement mode button,a play mode button, an ensemble mode button, and a mixing mode button.16. A portable terminal for composing a musical composition comprising:a touchscreen; a display unit; and a processor in communication with amemory, the memory including code, which when accessed by the processorcauses the processor to: receive an input from the touchscreen; set anaccompaniment with chords varying according to progress of a unit playtime in response to the input; play the accompaniment; display on thedisplay unit a trace of a plurality of touches as the plurality oftouches is detected on the touch screen; play a melody of tones mappedto positions of the plurality of touches and matching notes of a notescale defined by chords of the accompaniment playing at the times whenthe touches are detected; and save the trace, melody, and accompanimentas a music piece in an ensemble.
 17. The terminal of claim 16, theprocessor further: display the trace with arrangement spots when thesaved music piece is requested, the arrangement spots corresponding tothe position of the touches; and change the trace in accordance with themovement of the arrangement spot, when one of the arrangement spotsmoves in response to a touch event.
 18. The terminal of claim 17, theprocessor further: display the trace in a drawing region of the displayunit; and scroll the trace in accordance with a meter speed of theaccompaniment when a touch is detected.
 19. The terminal of claim 16,wherein the processor further: play, when a play command is input, amelody and an accompaniment; and display the trace in the form of agraphic, the graphic comprising a plurality of geometric figures havingdistinct shapes, colors, and transparency.